Analysis from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) identifies a chance for generational change in safeguarding the maritime cyber domain and strengthening the U.S. Coast Guard’s cyber workforce. Recent regulatory, legislative, and policy developments have given the Coast Guard new cybersecurity tools and expanded authorities to protect the marine transportation system from cyber threats. This comes as the agency’s historic budget challenges have eased. With nearly $25 billion in funding from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the Coast Guard now finds itself in the rare position of having resources and momentum on its side.
“The updated regulations mandate cyber incident reporting and empower the captain of the port (COTP)—a USCG official with broad law enforcement authorities in a designated COTP zone—to directly address a host of cyber threats,” Joel Coito, a military fellow in the Defense and Security Department at the CSIS, wrote in an analysis last week. “While COTPs have long exercised broad authorities to address maritime threats, EO 14116 makes clear that those authorities explicitly include cyber threats.”
Coito mentioned that the USCG also issued a notice of proposed rulemaking to implement minimum cybersecurity requirements for U.S.-flagged vessels, Outer Continental Shelf facilities, and U.S. facilities subject to the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002. The final rule requires cyber incident response plans, cybersecurity drills, and designation of a cybersecurity officer, among other measures. It expands the definition of a maritime ‘hazardous condition,’ which must be reported to the USCG, to include cyber incidents. The proposed rule drew robust public comment, which informed phased implementation and potential additional delays. But time is of the essence.
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